A4 Priority Group Expanded to Include BPO Workers

The list of the A4 priority group (economic frontliners) in the country’s COVID vaccination rollout program has been expanded to include workers in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced on Friday.

This inclusion of BPO workers was approved by the pandemic task force given their crucial role in ramping up the Philippine economy, said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.

“We cannot afford to disrupt its very good momentum, especially in this time of the pandemic,” said Lopez.

The BPO industry has been observed to make substantial contributions in export revenues, which has been hitting nearly $30 billion a year, much bigger than remittances made by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Around 1.32 million direct employment and 4 million indirect jobs have been created by the industry, making the Philippines “among the biggest BPO players in the world,” explained Lopez.

“This is helping the economy in its recovery efforts, in saving jobs and contributions to dollar revenue generation. That, in turn, is helping solidify further the economic fundamentals of the country and stable credit rating for the country,” he added.

Source: CNN PH